A plurality of substances, for example medicines or food additives such as vitamins, proteins, anti-oxidants or even vegetable additives, as an aqueous solution, aqueous suspension or emulsion have a potency that decreases rapidly with time. In particular in the area of sport and wellbeing, these types of products are preferably commercialised in liquid form, often in pre-packaged beverage bottles. As a result of the unavoidable transport and storage times, in the majority of cases these types of beverages no longer provide the consumer with the originally desired effect or only provide it in a limited manner. Many of the above-described substances, however, maintain their initial properties very well in dried form, for example as capsules, pastilles, tablets, pills, granulate or powder without forfeiting their original potency. Consequently there are already beverage containers on the market which have at least two separate chambers, one chamber containing the liquid and the other chamber containing the actual active substance in dried form or as a concentrated liquid or paste. Not until directly prior to use are the contents of the two chambers mixed and the beverage consumed. In the case of a variant of these types of beverage bottles, the substance, which is typically dried or is present in concentrated form, is situated in a chamber provided in the closure cap, whilst the liquid which makes up the main proportion of the beverage is situated in a conventional manner in the main container.
US patent application US 2003/0213709 A1 describes a beverage storage and discharge cap assembly, which includes an inner cylindrical housing rotatably nested within an outer cylindrical housing, the outer housing including a cap skirt having threads capable of being rotatably coupled to the neck of a bottle. The housings are hollow such that the inner housing may store a beverage substance therein, the inner housing having a closed top and the outer housing having a bottom wall for sealing the beverage substance within the cap assembly. A rotation of the inner housing causes a free edge thereof to rupture the bottom wall, thus releasing the stored beverage substance into the bottle whereby to interact with a beverage substance in the bottle. The housings include cooperating nubs that produce an audible sound or “pop” substantially simultaneous with rupture of the seal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,189 A describes a device for storage, mixing and dispensing of two separate materials, including but not limited to liquids, semi-liquids, powders, and granulated materials. The first and second containers include neck portions which are matably slidable within one another, the necks defining openings into each container. A plug member is retentively held in the neck of either container, and extends to a stopper portion which blocks fluid flow through the neck of the one container when it is positioned in the neck of the other container, thus separating the two materials during storage. A sleeve extends over the second container and at least a portion of the first container. A removable collar can be positioned between the second container and the first container to hold them in position where the materials are separated for storage. By removal of the collar, the first which moves the stopper portion out of the sealing position and allows communication between the containers for mixing. The second container can also include an opening sealingly closed by a second plug which allows a needle, cannula or other conduit to be inserted therethrough to withdraw the mixed fluids for dispensing.
European paten application EP 377412 A1 describes a double-chambered container for liquids comprising a container on which a sealing member can be screwed, the sealing member showing a removable, disposable bottom and which is able in turn to receive tightly an open bottomed tubular cartridge so that a hermetically closed chamber is formed. The tubular cartridge is also equipped with a cap ending with a removable safety ring. Tearing off the safety ring, the removable disposable bottom of the sealing member can be removed, connecting the chamber formed by the tubular cartridge and by the sealing member with the container. The container according to EP 377412 A1 is particularly suitable for tightly preserving liquids to be mixed upon use.
International patent application WO 2009/055311 A1 describes a sealed reservoir cap for attaching to a bottle which includes an annular part slidably received into another annular part to define an enclosed reservoir therebetween that is closed off by a punchable seal.
Japanese patent application JP 2006 069 636 A describes a sealed container with a bottom lid prevented from falling off from an outer cylinder even if a bottom lid is opened. An outer cylinder of the sealed container is closed by the bottom lid, the bottom face of which can be opened through a thin-wall part. The lower part of its inner circumferential surface is provided with an annular protrusion, the upper end of its outer circumferential surface is provided with a male thread and an engagement flange is set below it. The inner cylinder is provided with a reduced diameter part and its opened lower end surface is inclined, its edge part is made to function as a pressing part while its upper end surface is closed by a lid having a female thread screwed on the male thread of the outer cylinder. A restricting ring is removably attached to the lower end edge of the lid, the female thread is screwed on the male thread and the lid is rotated in its tightening direction. The upper portion above the outer reduced diameter part of the inner cylinder is closely connected with the annular protrusion of the outer cylinder to form a sealed state, and further when the lid is rotated in this direction, the thin-wall part is depressed with the pressing part and broken and the bottom lid is opened with leaving the part partially unbroken
International patent application WO 2008048077 A1 describes a container cap allowing the addition of an adjunct. The container cap includes a base cap member, which is a lower cap body coupled to a neck part of a container, an operational cap member, which is an upper cap body coupled to the upper end of the base cap member, and an openable sheet, which is provided on the lower end of one selected from the base cap member and the operational cap member. The openable sheet is able to be cut to discharge the adjunct. The container cap further includes a cutting means for cutting the openable sheet. The cutting means is provided in a remaining one selected from the base cap member and the operational cap member at a position corresponding to the openable sheet. The openable sheet includes a weight member, which has a diameter less than a diameter of an arc part of the openable sheet to be cut. A connection rib is connected between the weight member and a lower edge of an adjunct receiving part of the base cap member. The openable sheet further includes an openable sealing film, which seals both the lower edge of the adjunct receiving part and the weight member.
Finally, a multi-chamber container of this type with a corresponding closure cap is described, for example, in International Patent Application WO 2006/052827 A. The closure cap described in said document has an outer cap housing and an inner plunger which surrounds a chamber in which the substance to be protected from liquid and moisture during storage is situated prior to use. The bottom of the plunger forms a valve plate which can be pushed downward by pressing the plunger down in order to release a passage of the substance into the interior of the container in this manner. A circumferential locking ring, which has to be removed prior to use, ensures the plunger cannot be unintentionally actuated prior to use. The closure cap described in said document is expensive to produce and not very intuitive to use as a result of the numerous individual parts.
Consequently, the technical problem underlying the present invention is to provide a closure cap for a container, said closure cap having an inner chamber in which a substance to be protected is able to be kept protected from environmental influences during storage and prior to use is able to be discharged into a container which is provided with the closure cap by means of a clear, easily understood activating mechanism. The closure cap according to the invention, in this case, is to be producible in a particularly simple and cost-efficient manner.